


keep your head down and make it to me

by lovedyoufirst



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Louis, M/M, i suck at tagging just read the thing, i use the word spouse a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 20:12:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3302003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovedyoufirst/pseuds/lovedyoufirst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know, if I hadn’t been so stupid 8 years ago, we could’ve been doing this for 8 long years. My sincere apologies,”</p><p>“Maybe, but now I get to enjoy this moment even more because it’s been 8 years and I’ve never stopped wanting to kiss you ever since,” Louis admits, a light blush surfacing upon his face.</p><p>“I love you,” Harry repeats.</p><p>Louis beams at him. Literally beams. “I love you, Harry.”</p><p>or, an AU where Louis and Harry meet again on Valentine's day after 8 years and their feelings just never faded away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	keep your head down and make it to me

**Author's Note:**

> this is for emily my spouse my favorite person  
> emily i love you
> 
> ________  
> & thank you [skye](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/strong) for being the best beta !!  
> title from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX30Sgchc20) song :)

** keep your head down and make it to me **

It’s after a long day at work that Louis realizes this year is going to be the eighth consecutive valentine’s day he’ll be spending alone. It’s not that he’s upset about it - though frankly, he really is - it’s more about the fact that he doesn’t even try to settle down. It’s as if after one relationship that turned out bad, Louis just felt like ‘love’ was just something he shouldn’t get involved in. Truth is, maybe he should’ve realized that from the start, love was right in front of him and he simply pushed it away.

As he tries to focus on the sheets of paper laying on his desk, Louis’ mind drifts to what happened on Valentine’s day when he was eighteen.

Louis was eighteen when he first figured out that he was in love with his best friend. Both of them had a brief encounter the semester prior to the last one and had got on from the word ‘go’. Everyone was sure they were dating and to say Harry didn’t like it was an understatement.

He absolutely hated it. Hated it, despised it, loathed it, disliked it; every single synonym of the word ‘hate' he could think of could be added to that list. So, when he confronted Louis about it, it went downhill from there.

Louis telling Harry about all these things he was feeling towards him, without Harry saying anything, only to be rejected by him as soon as he was done. Louis’ had his heart broken once, and he wasn’t going to let it break another time.

But, unfortunately, when Harry moved away, they stopped contacting each other and both haven’t seen the other in years. Just the thought of it gets Louis teary eyed.

Shaking his head, trying to push the memory away, he puts away a few more sheets in his folder and calls it a day. When he’s about to leave, his assistant, Emily, knocks on the door.

“Louis, can I come in?” she asks, and she should know she’s welcomed whenever, but a smile grows on Louis’ face seeing she’s asked to come in knowing that maybe something was wrong. It’s as if she knew him better than anyone else, and, seeing the amount of time they spend together, Louis wouldn’t be surprised.

He nods, motioning at her to come in. He sits back into his chair and waits for her to speak.

“Before you leave, I just want you to know that they’ve decided to give you a promotion — ‘they’ being your boss and his superiors. You’ve improved so much, according to the letter they left me, and they want to give you the spot as President of the company. Happy Valentine’s day, Lou,” she announces, a bright smile on her face.

“God, this is sick. I’m so glad they chose to give me this promotion, I’ve been working so hard for the past few years,” Louis breathes out. He’s honestly speechless, this is huge. “Heeeey,” he continues, “what do you mean ‘according to the letter’- don’t you think I’ve improved as well?” Louis teases.

His assistant’s got the biggest smile on her face as they both erupt in laughter. “You know I was only kidding, Lou,”

“I know, love, thanks for the big announcement. You have no idea; this made my day,” he exclaims happily.

She smiles. “I better get going. I’ve got a spouse and a daughter to feed. You know how Charlotte doesn’t like when I get home late because she’s a hungry little baby. Happy Valentine’s day again, Lou.”

“You too, Emily. Let me walk you out,” he says politely, leading her out of his office.

There’s a bit silence before she speaks up again. Louis is so focused on the weird sound the shoes he bought make whenever he sets a foot on the cold marble floor that he barely hears what she says the first time. “Louis are you even listening?”

Her voice startles him slightly. “I’m - uh, no I wasn’t. I’m so sorry, honestly.”

She nods, “It’s okay. Any plans for tonight?”

He chuckles lightly, making her smile. “You know me, single as always. I’ve got nothing on my schedule, apart from hanging out with my dog. I’ve been spending the past eight years like this. D’you reckon I’ll be like this for the rest of my life?”

“Absolutely not, you nitwit. You know what they say, finding love may be hard but it’s almost guaranteed that when you find it, you’ll fall for the person in mere seconds. So, Lou, I believe you’re gonna find love.”

“But–” he tries to protest but Emily’s already shushing him.

“No buts. Listen, love isn’t something that’s just gonna bump into you. You have to try and work for it. Walk up to people, get to know them. Maybe you’ll find someone tonight, maybe you won’t, but none of that matters. When you find love, you’ll just know,” she assures him, patting him on the back.

“Thanks for everything, Em,” he smiles, “you honestly made my day earlier, I wasn’t kidding. Say hi to the family for me.”

As he steps outside, Emily’s words are still fresh on his mind.

She’s got to be right, he thinks. She has to be.

*

He gets to his house and unlocks the door, only to be given the best welcome ever by his dog.

“Bruce, my boy. Missed me, huh?” Louis says, and Bruce only barks as an answer so he’s gonna have to take that as a yes.

“Let me get changed and then I’ll take you for a walk. Happy Valentine’s day,” he says, and when hasn’t Louis thought about how weird he must look talking to his dog and no one else.

He goes to his room and sits on the bed, letting his back collide with the mattress afterwards. Lying on his bed are a pair of joggers, a hoodie and vans. He puts the joggers on, takes about a minute to figure out which shirt to wear under his hoodie, eventually giving up because it doesn’t actually matter what he wears underneath considering he’ll be wearing a hoodie. He runs down the stairs, meeting with a very excited Bruce, holding his leash with his mouth.

“I never understood why you get so excited to go for a run with me, it’s so bloody cold out man, what’s your problem,” he says, petting his dog.

He steps outside and gets a puff of fresh air because there’s nothing better than that after a long day at work. He’s not really looking at where he’s going, he’s trusting Bruce, who’s lightly pulling on the leash, trying to get Louis to run faster. And he’s a tad unlucky, really, because in a matter of seconds, his face meets someone’s very toned chest and he falls on the cold ground.

“Ah shit I’m sorry–”

“I’m so clumsy, I wasn’t looking–”

they both say at the same time, not bothering to look up. When Louis looks up though, the look on his face softens.

“Harry?”

Harry’s silent for a moment. His eyes are still as green as the last time Louis saw them, and he feels like it’s been an eternity but he’s happy.

“Louis,” Harry mumbles, voice sounding as small as a whisper. “It’s good to see you,”

“You too, H. You look well,” Louis replies, rubbing his shoulder.

Harry hesitates before answering. But Louis, on the other hand, feels like it’s only them that matter. It’s as if they were in some kind of parallel world where they could only see each other. If someone other than Harry were to talk to him he wouldn’t hear a thing. That’s how secretly smitten he is with the younger boy. He smiles as Harry speaks up.

“I-uh, thanks. It was great seeing you, Lou, I’ll stop bothering you on your run. You might wanna watch where you go next time, though,” he says, joining Louis with a bit of laughter. Everything he says is a bit rushed out, like he has somewhere to be.

“I’ll keep my eyes open, Curly. And hey, you’re not busy, right? Have you had dinner?”

Harry shakes his head. “No, I’m not busy. Frankly, I haven’t been busy on Valentine’s Day for a long time. What’s that dinner offer? I wouldn’t say no.”

“Well,” Louis shrugs nonchalantly, “I don’t know where you usually eat at but I’m always at Rosso’s when I go out. Keep in mind that I go out like only a few times a year.”

“Sounds great Lou,”

“Perfect,” Louis smiles, “It’s just around the corner from here. I feel lucky living in such a great neighborhood.”

Harry smiles when Louis pulls on Bruce’s leash to have him lead them to the restaurant.

Well, this ought to turn out fine, right?

*

After Louis ties Bruce to the bicycle rack outside of the restaurant, he leads Harry inside.

“Table for two?” someone asks, and it’s a bit weird when Harry answers because Louis’ too busy staring at him.

“Yes, please.”

They walk side by side over to the table they’ve been assigned and it feels like they never parted, as if time stopped between eight years ago and now.

“Here you go. I’ll bring you both a glass of water in a minute. Have a nice Valentine’s day,”

That woman’s voice is filled with happiness and Louis wishes he could be like that on Valentine’s Day, but unfortunately, it’s not like everyone can be happy. Harry breaks the uneasy silence between them.

“So, Louis, ’ve you got a job?” Harry asks, suddenly, to start up a conversation.

“I do,” he says, “I actually, uh, got a promotion today. They named me ‘President of the company’. Our company is a travelling agent company and I’m so happy to see that it’s developing so well. Anyway, let’s talk about you, Harry. Do you have a job?”

Harry shrugs. “‘S not really a job, you know, it’s more like a hobby. I’m a photographer at sports events, like football matches and everything. But since I like it so much it’s like taking pictures for myself. But I get paid for it so it’s probably a job yeah,”

“Harry, that’s wonderful,” he exclaims, “finding something you like doing as a job is always the best thing, I’m so thrilled for you.”

“Thank you Louis, congrats on your promotion as well,”

The conversation stops there, really. Both Louis and Harry go back to their menus, trying to find something to eat. Louis’ already got his mind set on something because he goes here all the time, but Harry seems to be struggling.

“Need help choosing something, Haz? he asks.

“Maybe,” Harry says, teasingly. His hair is shoulder length now, and he plays with it a little, earning some laughs from Louis.

“Your hair’s gotten so fucking long, god,” Louis laughs, totally changing the subject, “I had long hair myself, last year, but then during the summer I felt like it was getting too hot on the nape of my neck so I got it chopped off.”

Harry smiles, showing his dimples that Louis had certainly not forgotten about. “I’ve missed this,”

“I’ve missed you,” Louis counters, voice completely sincere. He knows he shouldn’t have said that, because it’ll probably end up badly, but there was no use in lying.

“Look, Louis–”

“Harry, I deserve an explanation,” he says more seriously, stopping Harry in the middle of his sentence. “I’ve been waiting eight god damn years for you to explain to me why you left or where you went and what happened between us. You were my best friend — for the matter you still are — and I was in love with you, and the minute I told you about it you just left without a word. I think I deserve an explanation,” Louis says. He’s not yelling, but his voice is a notch louder than before. Lucky for him, no one’s looking at them, yet.

“Louis,” Harry says, voice soothing. “I didn’t mean to break your heart, or to leave right in the middle of the school year but I had my reasons. First of all, I was in love with you too,” he admits, and when Louis’ about to react to his confession, he continues. “And sure, maybe it wasn’t obvious, but when I heard people talk about us being a couple without us being one, it irked me. It wasn’t because I didn’t like you, because honestly, I loved you, it was just because I wasn’t gonna let people force you into thinking you should date me or something.

I wasn’t aware of your feelings at first so when when you told me how you felt, I just thought people had put you up to this, and that you were lying to me. I couldn’t take it so I just left.”

Harry stops talking and Louis’ eyes are getting teary. “I’m really sorry, Lou, I should’ve talked to you about it. It was an awful misunderstanding, I know,”

“You really should’ve Harry. But I forgive you, now that I understand a bit more. I still have a question, though,”

Harry nods.

“Where were you for the past eight years?”

Harry gulps, taking a sip of water. “I - uh, this is gonna sound so bad but I went to live with my dad. You know, my mom got remarried to someone else, but I wanted to live with my dad so I just called him to see if he’d have me and he said yes. Then, I started being home schooled; he paid for everything, insisting he hadn’t been really good at all that father thing. And then, he - uh, passed away. So, I inherited of his money and here I am, living in London and taking pictures of football players. Does that answer your question?”

To be fair, Louis is speechless. From what he remembers, Harry’s dad had been so rude to him before he left Harry and his mom. He hadn’t been the nicest, father or not, and it upsets Louis to see that Harry forgave him so easily. But, in a way, he’s glad that Harry had someone taking care of him while he couldn’t.

He gives him a short nod as an answer. “Isn’t it ironic how we met again, after eight long years, on Valentine’s Day?”

Harry smiles. “It kind of is yeah,”

Louis’ eyes meet Harry’s and it’s like he went back in time. Eight years ago, when he and Harry were sat on the grass in front of his house, cuddled because it was cold outside. Harry’s eyes met his and they almost kissed then, but they rarely talk about that.

“Maybe it was fate,” Harry whispered.

“Heard that,” Louis replies, shooting Harry a smile. “To be completely honest with you, Harry Styles, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about you every single year we spent apart.”

It’s only a matter of seconds before Harry’s lips are on his. Their first kiss is like everything Louis’ ever imagined. Harry’s lips are as soft as Louis would’ve thought. Harry smiled into the kiss as Louis ran his tongue against his bottom lip, deepening the kiss when Harry parted his lips. Their tongues met as Louis reached a hand up to run his fingers through Harry’s hair, smiling when he felt Harry smile into the kiss as well. They parted from the kiss, after what felt like an eternity.

“God, Harry, I love you.”

It’s silent after that, and as much as Louis fears rejection, he’s actually been waiting to talk to Harry and tell him how he felt all over again, and no matter his answer, Louis’ feelings for him weren’t just gonna go away.

Harry smiles. “I love you, too.”

Harry presses his lips against Louis’ once more before pulling away. “You know, if I hadn’t been so stupid 8 years ago, we could’ve been doing this for 8 long years. My sincere apologies,”

“Maybe, but now I get to enjoy this moment even more because it’s been 8 years and I’ve never stopped wanting to kiss you ever since,” Louis admits, a light blush surfacing upon his face.

“I love you,” Harry repeats.

Louis beams at him. Literally beams. “I love you, Harry.”

Harry’s about to say something but Louis stops him. “Look, this is totally going to ruin the moment, considering you just said you loved me, and also considering the fact that we’re in the nicest restaurant I’ve ever been to but do you think we–”

“God, Louis, get to the point,”

“I’ll try and be more blunt this time. I need you to grab my dog on the way out, take me home and fuck me. I’d like us to leave soon, preferably now,” he explains, sipping on his water.

The noise Harry makes is the weirdest sound Louis’ ever heard but he doesn’t mind as he’s rapidly being rushed out of the restaurant, his fingers intertwined with Harry’s. “I thought you’d never ask. I wanted to fuck you as soon as you bumped into me.”

“Charming,” Louis teases, his grip on Harry’s hand more firm than before.

*

Louis would be lying if he said he’s made it from Rosso’s to his house in less than 10 minutes before but here he is, on the doorstep of his house, precisely 7 minutes and 40 seconds after they left.

As soon as Louis lets his dog run into the house, Harry presses him against the front door and kisses him hard. It’s a bit rushed, considering they’re pretty much out of breath after running this much but it’s also kind of perfect. Harry’s soft lips nicely grazing against Louis’, if Louis could describe his new favorite hobby in two words he’d probably say ‘kissing Harry’.

“Are you gonna fuck me on the floor or are you gonna take me up to my room to fuck me nice and slow?”

“You’ve got quite the big mouth on yourself, Tomlinson.”

“Harry,” Louis warns.

“Aren’t you able to walk up to your room on your own?”

“Fine, but you’re gonna have to let me ride you once we get there.”

Louis’ already walking up the stairs when Harry speaks. “Deal. Show me the way,” Harry exclaims, following suit.

Louis gets to the bedroom first but he waits at the door, standing up on the tip of his toes to reach Harry’s lips once more. It’s a swift move that catches Harry by surprise, but the response is even softer than before as their lips both move in sync.

With no intention in breaking the kiss, Harry leads Louis to the bed, laying him on his back. They’re still fully clothed, but Harry can feel Louis’ cock throbbing in his pants and god, he needs to do something.

“Need to suck you off,” he says, breaking the kiss whilst sliding Louis’ joggers past his knees, his boxers coming off right after.

Louis nods frantically, smiling down at Harry. Then, Harry rubs his hand against the tip of Louis’ dick, before sliding it down to the base and up. He does this a couple of times before his lips wrap around Louis’ cock. He swirls his tongue around it, tasting the small drops of precome that lay on the tip before taking him further in. He bobs his head up and down, making Louis shudder. Louis, then, promptly puts his hands in Harry’s long hair, tugging slightly but not too hard, in fear of hurting the younger boy.

It’s no secret that Harry likes to have his hair pulled, Louis remembers him saying that before but he didn’t really get the chance to actually experience it. He seems to catch on pretty quickly, giving a few more tugs at Harry’s long unruly hair as Harry takes him deeper, hollowing his cheeks on the way back up.

“Mhm— fuck,” Louis whines, “your mouth is so—”

Harry gives him a lopsided smile once he’s done. “Glad you enjoyed. Lube and condoms?”

“Top drawer behind you, love,” Louis says.

As Harry gets the lube and condoms, Louis sets for a somewhat comfier position, propped up on his arms. When Harry comes back, condom rolled on his cock, Louis is almost breathless.

“Quite the package you’ve got there,” Louis teases.

“Think you can take it?”

“Totally. Lube it up, I’m ready,” he instructs.

Harry does as told. As soon as his cock is covered with lube, he aligns it with Louis’ hole and with a sharp nod of the head from Louis, he pushes in slightly. When he bottoms out, he stays still, waiting for Louis to adjust to his size.

“Move,” Louis instructs.

And Harry doesn’t need to be told twice, as he pushes in and out of Louis’ hole sporadically. The sounds emitted by Louis make it even harder for him to concentrate as he tries to fuck him a bit faster. They settle a pace as Louis fucks himself on Harry’s cock for a bit.

Louis’ eyes shot open when he feels himself come. “God,”

He looks up at Harry and he’s got the same endearing smile on his face.

“I believe I was promised a ride on your dick, Harry,” Louis says, breaking the silence once again.

Harry nods, laughing and he pulls out. Harry sits on the edge of the bed as he waits for Louis, who’s grabbing the bottle of lube, smearing a bit of its content on Harry’s dick. One second Louis’ hovering him and the next one, he’s sinking down on Harry’s dick with ease, a loud moan echoing in the empty house. It’s not a surprise when Harry props himself on one of his elbows, fucking Louis as he’s riding him.

“Louis—god, I’m gonna—” he warns, unable to finish his sentence, filling the condom in hot come.

After they both come down from their highs and as soon as their breathing evens out, Harry looks over at Louis, who now lays beside him. It probably wasn’t the best thing to do after these sorts of things, seeing as they were both out of breath and sweaty, but Harry’s hands engulf Louis in a big and comfortable hug.

“That was amazing,” Louis breathes out softly, his breath hot on Harry’s neck.

“You were amazing, I love you,” Harry counters, making Louis smile.

Harry sends him a wink and Louis, slightly giving in to temptation, darts his tongue out, licking up the prominent vein of his neck. He presses his lips against Harry’s soft skin a few more times before pulling away, knowing things would get out of control if he didn’t.

“Why did you stop? ’t felt nice,” Harry says, pressing a kiss atop Louis’ head.

At first he doesn’t get an answer because Louis is too busy tracing a finger along the tattoos Harry has on his chest, but then Louis mumbles a small, “dunno.”

Harry nods. “You’re rather fit, you know, for a photographer,” Louis comments, as his finger keeps brushing Harry’s skin smoothly. He knows Harry’s looking at him, but when he raises one of his eyebrows to see the look on his face, he sees the sweetest look upon his face and he just wants to kiss him so bad and never let him go.

But, Harry beats him to it. He leans down and when his breath is hot on Louis’ lips, the older boy parts them immediately, his tongue smooth against Harry’s bottom lip. They part once again after what feels like an eternity. “You tell me I’m fit all the time, but let’s talk about how fit you are. I bet that when you go out, all eyes are on you.”

Louis shrugs, blushing and changing the subject when he sees Harry’s about to speak.

“So, shower? You go first or I go?”

“I thought we could go in together, you know, to save water and all,” he teases.

“Harry Styles, always caring about the environment,” Louis replies with the same tone, pressing a kiss on Harry’s arm.

And if they end up showering together on their first date, then no one needs to know.

 

*

It’s four in the afternoon the next day when Louis wakes up. He feels warmer than before and smiles when he turns around to find Harry already smiling at him. “Morning Lou,”

“Good morning, Harry. I could get used to waking up next to you,”

“Are you always this sappy or is that just because I fucked your brains out last night?” Harry asks.

“God, Harry, I’m shocked. You think that I’m only sappy when I get fucked. You should know that I’m sappy all the time, thank you very much,” he replies, in mock-offense.

“Sure. So, it’s 4pm, what do you say we make some dinner together?”

Louis looks at him with a smile. “I never make dinner, so I’ll watch you do everything and give you compliments and stuff. That’s all I’m good at in the kitchen.”

Harry shakes his head but gets up, dragging Louis out of bed in the process. This ought to be a long evening.

*

_**3 years later** _

It’s on a friday, on Valentine’s Day, that Louis and Harry celebrate their first year of marriage. The wedding wasn’t big, no, seeing as Louis wanted their wedding to be only with the people they cared the most about, like their families and such. Having their wedding on Valentine’s Day could seem cheesy to some people but for Harry and Louis, it had a completely different meaning.

As Louis presses the button in the elevator so that he can reach the ground floor, he’s surprised when he sees his assistant, Emily, running to catch the elevator. “Louis, wait,” she exclaims, startling him a bit.

She enters the elevator, out of breath. “God, I need to get in shape.”

Louis laughs. “What’s got you in such a hurry?”

She sighs. “Charlotte, my daughter. I need to pick her up, and I’m half an hour late since I had to finish something.”

“God, Emily, you could’ve told me I would’ve let you off early,” he says as they reach the ground floor. “Happy Valentine’s Day, love. I’ll be seeing you on Monday.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lou. Say hi to Harry for me.”

As Louis spots his car in the parking lot, he runs to it, making sure he’s not late for the reservation he made at Rosso’s. He’s four minutes early, but he hasn’t left yet so he needs to make sure he gets there on time.

He ends up making it on time, passing on the red lights a couple times but he’s here and as soon as he spots his husband in the restaurant, his smile widens.

He walks up to him and Harry stands up to peck his lips. “Hi,”

“Hi,” Louis repeats. “I love you,”

“I love you too, darling. Happy Valentine’s Day and of course, Happy anniversary.”

Louis doesn’t even bother hiding the blush on his face as he looks back at Harry. He takes the glass of champagne that’s in front of him and raises it up. “To us,”

Harry smiles, looking at him fondly. “To us, and to many amazing years that I’ll get to spend with you, my dear spouse. Did you know that spouse was a mixture of spider and mouse and–”

Louis feels bad but he’s got to interrupt him before it gets worse.

“Wow, you get even sappier on Valentine’s Day, Harry Styles. I fell in love with the world’s biggest sap. Where’s the luck, huh,” Louis says, sarcastically.

“Heeeeeey,” Harry pouts, “that’s Tomlinson to you.”

And if they don’t make it to the end of the meal like they did three years ago, then no one really needs to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/ankletattoo)
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